Do you not see that Allah has subjected to you whatever is on the earth and the ships which run through the sea by His command? And He restrains the sky from falling upon the earth, unless by His permission. Indeed Allah, to the people, is Kind and Merciful.

In Yusuf Ali's translation, the word sky is accompanied by the word "rain" in parenthesis. The problem is that his interpretation of it, it's not what the verse is saying literally. Muhammad had no idea about anything scientific. He lived 1400 years ago and didn't know that the moon was a big chunk of rock floating in space. All this is important context, because with it this verse makes sense.

He restrains the sky from falling upon the earth

if indeed precipitation like rain is being mentioned, why would he restrain it from falling upon the earth?

Indeed Allah, to the people, is Kind and Merciful

Of course he is, he's holding up the sky just like the mythical greek character atlas is holding up the heavens. He doesn't have to, but he does. That's why allah is kind and merciful, otherwise the sky would fall upon earth and kill everyone. That's not good for holy business.

If He willed, He could give the sky permission to fall on the earth, and whoever is in it would be killed, but by His kindness, mercy and power, He withholds the heaven from falling on the earth, except by His leave.

Obviously Ibn Kathir only confirms the point.

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